In
our country, examinations have come to occupy a somewhat divine space
in the public
imagination. So much so that, young kids are raised with a determined
focus of cracking one examination or the other. Not that assessments
of some sort
were not there in the traditional systems. But, the importance that
mass-based standardized examinations are given
in the modern education system is unprecedented.
Conducting
examinations has become one of the core activities of the modern
education system. In their normal functioning, schools and colleges
conduct many examinations. Also, with the push towards a semester
system which emphasize continuous mode of assessment, the frequency
of examination has increased many-fold. Some argue that this system
is best suited for learning as it comes with continuous feedback
throughout the course of a semester. While, there are others who
believe that too much of stress on examination is counterproductive,
as true learning happens when the mind is free from any undue
pressure associated with examinations.
We
may not be interested in a detailed comparison of these traditions of
thoughts. But, the peculiar, unprecedented, and uncertain situation
which has arisen in the wake of a pandemic has forced all the temples
of modern education to rethink and plan their teaching and assessment
activities.
If
we focus only on the higher educational institutes and examinations,
there are many leading institutions in this country and the world
which have promoted their students without conducting the due exams
for the current semester. One would like to believe that the
underlying feeling and thought behind this decision was that their
students do not feel further pressurized in these times. At the same
time, there are institutions who want their students to forget about
their material and psychological conditions
and
to worry about the due date of the last assignment and the coming
exams in online mode.
But
what exactly are these conditions of our
times?
Some
of the conditions may be common like fear and anxiety of getting the
disease, unequal access to the required devices, electricity supply
and internet connectivity. Whereas, there could be situations that
are peculiar to the social location which could be geographic as well
as socio-economic.
Think
about a student from the hilly terrain having poor connectivity,
whose family income has gone down the drain as the roadside Dhaba
which his family manages is closed for the past two months;
Similarly, there could be a student, whose house got damaged during
the recent floods/cyclone and is living without electricity for many
days in a makeshift camp; Or another, who is struggling because she
is living in a region which is under lock-down for past one year.
Near her village, an encounter between the security forces and the
insurgents has just ended; Or try to imagine the one, who is
struggling to focus on online instructions in a small house with many
family members, some of whom require constant care.
To
these cases, if one adds the students having disabilities of
different kinds, who suffer because they lack support even in normal
circumstances, then one is compelled to ask;
Do
these students need examinations in these times? Do these
institutions have resources to conduct online examinations while
providing a level playing field to their students?
The
answers to both these questions are a clear No.
Even
the UGC guidelines on examination for the universities in view of
Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, April 2020, suggest
“Like
the modes of teaching-learning, most of the universities follow the
physical mode of examinations, with a few exceptions. On this aspect
also, some of the universities lack adequate IT infrastructure for
conducting online examinations. The hiring of private agencies for
conducting online examinations also does not seem feasible...
Therefore, keeping in view the basic infrastructure available at the
level of the institutions and accessibility of the internet to the
students, especially in remote areas, it is not feasible to uniformly
adopt the online mode of examination at this juncture.”
As per the official data on the key
indicators of household social consumption on education in India,
National Statistical Office, in their 75th survey, conducted between
July 2017 to June 2018, has reported that only 10.7% of the Indian
households have computers and 23.8% have the facility of internet
connection. These are overall figures with a large urban-rural divide
and difference among various states. For a state like Assam, these
numbers are 7.5% (rural 3.7%, urban 30.8%) and 17.0% (rural 12.1%,
urban 46.9%), respectively.
In
my opinion, these are the reasons why conducting examinations should
not be a priority of any academic institution in these times. Many
leading institutions who are concerned about the quality and academic
integrity of any such process have rightly done so.
The
decision of not conducting the due examinations have given their
students immediate relief. And, have given these institutions an
opportunity and time to think beyond the box. Not that it will
necessarily lead to a system that is just, humane and equitable in
the long run.
At
this juncture, one may ask what should the publicly funded
institutions, where the students come from diverse social
backgrounds, do?
In
my humble opinion, this crisis has given the public institutions an
opportunity to focus on their role which they are supposed to play in
society. These times have given us, the teachers, a unique
opportunity to know our students in much better and humane ways,
which can get reflected in the ways we adapt for teaching-learning
and assessment in future.
For
the time being, these institutions should tell their students, not to
worry about their exams/marks/grades, take care of themselves, their
families and friends in these difficult times, and think about the
future and the possibilities it holds.
Let
us not hold these young minds from imagining a world which is more
just, humane and equitable. One way to make them care for these
values is to show that WE care for them.
An edited version of this piece was published in The Assam Tribune (June 18, 2020)
